Supporting Statement - 0719

Supporting Statement for Form SSA-445

Application to Collect a Fee for Payee Services

20 CFR 404.2040a & 20 CFR 404.640a

OMB No. 0960-0719

A. Justification

1. Introduction/Authoring Laws and Regulations

Sections 205(j) and 1631(a) of the Social Security Act, as well as 20 CFR 404.2040a, and 20 CFR 404.640a of the Code of Federal Regulations, authorize the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to allow certain organizational representative payees to collect a fee for providing payee services.

2. Description of Collection

Before organizations may collect a fee for payee services, they complete and submit Form SSA-445. SSA uses Form SSA-445 to determine whether to authorize or deny permission to collect fees for payee services. The respondents are private sector businesses, or State and local government offices, applying to become a fee-for-service organizational representative payee.

2. Use of Information Technology to Collect the Information

The SSA-445 is available in paper form, and as a downloadable PDF file. SSA did not create an electronic version of Form SSA-445 under the agency’s Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) plan because only 100 respondents complete the form annually. This is less than the GPEA cut-off of 50,000.

2. Why We Cannot Use Duplicate Information

The nature of the information we collect and the manner in which we collect it preclude duplication. SSA does not use another collection instrument to obtain similar data.

5. Minimizing Burden on Small Respondents

This collection does not affect small businesses or other small entities.

6. Consequence of Not Collecting Information or Collecting it Less Frequently

If we did not use Form SSA-445, organizations would have no way to apply to collect a fee for providing payee services. Because we only collect this information once, we cannot collect it less frequently. There are no technical or legal obstacles to burden reduction.

7. Special Circumstances

There are no special circumstances that would cause SSA to conduct this information collection in a manner inconsistent with 5 CFR 1320.5.

8. Solicitation of Public Comment and Other Consultations with the Public

The 60-day advance Federal Register Notice published on August 16, 2017, at

82 FR 38982, and we received no public comments. The 30-day FRN published on November 9, 2017 at 82 FR 52088. If we receive any comments in response to this Notice, we will forward them to OMB.

8. Payment or Gifts to Respondents

SSA does not provide payments or gifts to the respondents.

8. Assurances of Confidentiality

SSA protects and holds confidential the information it collects in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1306, 20 CFR 401 and 402, 5 U.S.C. 552 (Freedom of Information Act), 5 U.S.C. 552a (Privacy Act of 1974), and OMB Circular No. A-130.

8. Justification for Sensitive Questions

The information collection does not contain any questions of a sensitive nature.

8. Estimates of Public Reporting Burden

Modality of Completion	Number of Respondents	Frequency of Response	Average Burden Per Response (minutes)	Estimated Total Annual Burden (hours)
Private sector business	90	1	10	15
State/local government offices	10	1	10	2
Totals	100			17

The total burden for this ICR is 17 hours. We based these figures on current management data information. We did not calculate a separate cost burden.

13. Annual Cost to the Respondents (Other)

This collection does not impose a known cost burden on the respondents.

14. Annual Cost To Federal Government

The annual cost to the Federal Government is approximately $600. This estimate accounts for costs from the following areas: (1) designing, printing, and distributing the form; and (2) SSA employee (e.g., field office, 800 number, DDS staff) information collection and processing time.

15. Program Changes or Adjustments to the Information Collection Request

There are no changes in the public reporting burden.

16. Plans for Publication of Results of Information Collection

SSA will not publish the results of the information collection.

17. Displaying the OMB Approval Expiration Date

OMB granted SSA an exemption from the requirement to print the OMB expiration date on its program forms. SSA produces millions of public-use forms with life cycles exceeding those of an OMB approval. Since SSA does not periodically revise and reprint its public-use forms (e.g., on an annual basis), OMB granted this exemption so SSA would not have to destroy stocks of otherwise useable forms with expired OMB approval dates, avoiding Government waste.

    

1. Exceptions to Certification Statement

SSA is not requesting an exception to the certification requirements at 5 CFR 1320.9 and related provisions at 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

SSA does not use statistical methods for this information collection.